A lot of auxlangs have "cringey" names with etymologies that are immediately recognizable to their target audiences.
Examples include:
* Lingua Franca Nova
* Interlingua
* Interlingue
* Globasa
Do you think that these languages would be more popular if their names were apriori or at least less recognizable to someone who had never heard of the language?
Now, eurocentrism in auxlangs like Esperanto has been debated a lot. This is not what I am going to talk about today. I haven't found writings about the specific point I will talk about so that's why I wanted to bring it up.
Nearly all auxlangs have romance-germanic logic and structure almost word by word. Replacing vocabulary and some grammatical features is not enough to avoid Eurocentric bias.
Grammar is how you structure thoughts, how you reference the language's logic, and how you build and re-build meanings. One must contend with a languages' backbone in order to examine bias. And when you step outside of the romance-germanic-auxlang sphere, you see that a lot of what we take for granted in auxlang logic, coupled with our deep intuitions of what is "simple" or "easy", is deeply Eurocentric. When you look at languages like Japanese, Arabic, Yucatec Maya, and Turkish, you can see this much more clearly. And then you realize that actually, a vast number of languages worldwide are deeply distinct from romance-germanic. They operate in totally different and fascinating logic and structures.
For example, take the features of what I would call "Standard Auxlang". SVO order, which in reality is not even just SVO order (which is common) but rather almost everything in romance-germanic order. Then you have explicit pronouns; European-style subordination; topic and focus as an afterthought; large verb systems primarily tense and secondary aspect; lots of "be" and "it"; gerund everywhere; the standard list of correlatives; romance-germanic suffixes, prefixes and word derivation; almost no information structure like comment or evidentiality. Notice that there is nothing inherently European about any of these in isolation. The point is, when you use these in aggregate, you end up with romance-germanic logic and sentence structure almost word by word.
There are so many unexamined assumptions about what makes a language easy, simple, or universal that we may not even be able to picture how these little things could be different. And yet they are, in a rich linguistic landscape that we have in natural languages worldwide. The community barely has space for languages outside of this Euro sphere to contribute much more than just vocabulary, they are not allowed into the very own foundations of auxlangs.
I am not talking here about auxlangs that are based on European languages and explicitly so. They tend to be clear about what their tendencies are. It's almost worse to still have a largely romance-germanic auxlang landscape while saying otherwise because biases are left unexamined. Whether the community is willing to examine its assumptions of what is easy, familiar, intuitive and non-eurocentric is worth asking.
Now, there are a few auxlangs that are significantly different from romance-germanic-auxlang structure and logic. They may be organized with topic-comment structures, aspect-first verb systems, role markers, zero pronouns, and other things that feel unfamiliar to Euro speakers. But these auxlangs are not numerous, and they may not benefit from the same perceived easiness and familiarity as Standard Auxlang.
(same page on the website: https://learnoravia.com/about/core-grammar/. more details about Oravia: https://learnoravia.com)
# Oravia — 10-Minute Grammar
Learn the basics in 10 simple points and start making sentences right away.
---
## Pronunciation
**B C D F G H J L M N P R S T V W Y**
All pronounced as you would expect in English or IPA, with the details of:
- **C** /k/ as in *cake*
- **H** /h/ as in *house* or soft rasp
- **J** /dʒ/ as in *jello*
- **R** /ɾ/ flap, like the tt in American English *butter*
**Vowels: A E I O U**
- **A** /ɑ/ as in *father*
- **E** /ɛ/ as in *cellar*
- **I** /i/ as in *creek*
- **O** /ɔ/ as in *door*
- **U** /u/ as in *flu*
If you pronounce E and O closed like in Spanish (IPA e and o), that's fine too!
**Stress:** On the penultimate syllable, like i**LI**ru.
---
## 1. Pronouns and Possession
| Singular | Plural |
|----------|--------|
| nim (I) | nima (we) |
| run (you) | runa (you, pl) |
| hay (he/she/they) | haya (they, pl) |
**Possessive:** Use the pronoun before the word
```
nim bo
[I house] = my house
```
For nouns or to disambiguate, use **de**:
```
bo de miwo
[house of dog] = dog's house
```
---
## 2. The Four Core Markers
Markers go before the word or phrase they mark:
> **a** = subject (doer/experiencer)
>
> **i** = verb (main action)
>
> **e** = direct object (what the verb acts on)
>
> **u** = indirect object (recipient, often English "to/for")
```
a [subject] i [verb] e [direct complement] u [indirect complement]
a nim i anona e mocen u run
I give chocolate to you
```
Because roles are marked (a/e/u), word order is flexible and you can copy the natural order of your own language.
We also use **a** to say something is something. For example, *a nim a yalen* = I am tall · *a bo a yamirli* = the house is old.
---
## 3. Describing Words
A modifier goes right before the word it describes.
```
mocen mouje → "chocolate drink"
pohem mocen mouje → "hot chocolate drink"
```
Because of the markers, any word can go in any role. For example, if you say *a angi* this means "[subject] brave", if you say *i angi* this means "[verb] to dare". If you say *angi falen*, this means "bold child".
---
## 4. Two Core Prepositions
Use these instead of a large set of prepositions:
> **en** = location/time ("in, on, at")
>
> **de** = source/possession ("of, from")
**Examples:**
```
a nim en bo
I at home
```
a nim i anifi de bo
I come from the house
```
---
## 5. Coordination and Contrast
> **su** = and/with
>
> **mai** = but
>
> **dou** = or
>
> **eta** = so, therefore
```
run i mo e moaria su mocen
you eat apple and chocolate
```
---
## 6. Negation
Add **-um** to the word you want to negate. For example, used with the word *dami*, meaning to exist or there is/are:
```
i dami a moaria
there is an apple
```
i damium a moaria
there is no apple
```
---
## 7. Questions and "What/That" Clauses
Raise intonation for yes/no questions, no structural change needed:
```
run i mo? → are you eating?
```
**ce** = what (question) · **ca** = that / which (connector)
```
ce en bo?
what in the house?
```
a nim i anye ca a run i dairan
I do what you like
```
Build more question words with **ce** + a domain word:
| Word | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| cei | who (what + person) |
| cedom | where (what + place) |
| celi | when (what + time) |
| ceora | why (what + reason) |
| cenon | how (what + way) |
In statements, swap **ce** → **ca**: ceora → caora (because), cedom → cadom (where), etc.
```
run i ilianum cadom bo
you know-not where the house
```
---
## 8. Verb Stacking
To chain two verbs, repeat **i** before each one:
```
run i dairan i anelem en bo → you like to stay home
nim i do i mo → I can eat
haya i dai i anvu → they want to go
hay i fou i mo → she needs to eat
```
No "to" needed between verbs.
---
## 9. Compounds
Oravia has a small vocabulary, and as such, there is full creativity and flexibility to create new expressions.
**-a suffix** bonds modifiers and noun into a single concept:
```
waa jasru = ocean-bend = bay
lufua yahlul = air-soft = fluffy
lia selyino = time-plan = schedule
waa dom = water-land = island
lufua bei = air-vehicle = airplane
```
Notice you can be as specific as you'd like by adding more descriptions to your compound. If you think lufua bei (air-vehicle) is not enough specificity for what you want to express as airplane, you can for example say jeluina lufua bei (winged-air-vehicle).
**Hyphenated forms** fuse two words into one expression:
```
falen-li = child-time = childhood
tohpu-vanvu = sad-walk = to trudge, move with sadness
bo-bortal = house-enter = to enter a house
ilofun-vardei = hesitant-look = to peek with doubt
```
If you are unsure whether you want a compound or hyphenated expression, just use whatever feels right to you. Chances are, either works!
---
## 10. Vocabulary
Most Oravia words are formed as (sub)cluster + root.
A cluster is the first sound of the word, which signals its semantic domain. For example, MO for food and eating, FA for family, AN for actions, YA for qualities, and so on across 48 clusters.
Clusters are further divided into 0-4 subclusters, indicated by the third letter.
A root is a sound shared across multiple clusters that adds a second layer of meaning.
For example, *moalen*, banana, is formed by MO (food cluster) + A (fruit subcluster) + LEN (root for long).
Together, the ~260 (sub)clusters and roots form the sound-meaning associations of Oravia. These classifications were not created by me; rather they were discovered by using word embeddings of how people associate concepts together. (Sub)clusters and roots also have associations with natural languages. For example, *vi* means internal body, similar to Latin's viscera. For more information, take a look at What is Oravia (https://learnoravia.com/about/what-is-oravia/)?
Because the sounds aren't arbitrary, once you know the associations, you can make educated guesses about words you haven't learned yet, remember words more easily, play around with word components, and learn words faster and faster.
Now that you know a little of how the vocabulary works, you can explore the Full Vocabulary, Building Blocks, and Blocks Cheat Sheet pages on the site.
---
## You've Got the Essentials of Grammar!
**You now know:**
- The 4 core markers (a/i/e/u)
- How to negate with -um
- How to ask questions (ce)
- Prepositions (en/de)
- Core connectors (ca) and coordinators (su/mai/dou/eta)
- Verb stacking and creating new expressions
You can start building sentences right away!
---
## Start Here — Starter Vocabulary
Pronouns and function words we've seen:
nim = I · run = you · hay = he/she/they · nima = we · runa = you plural · haya = they
de = of/from · en = at/in · su = and · mai = but · dou = or · eta = so
Other words:
mo = eat / food · mouje = drink · anye = make, do · anvu = go · anidai = want · ilaluan = speak / say · vardei = see / look · dami = exist / there is · dairan = like · ilian = know · elemi = live, life · boemo = kitchen, cook · ando = can · bonfene = lie down / bed · bo = house · fano = child · fare = parent · faejor = woman · faejal = man · mogali = coffee · moaria = apple · mouje = drink · mocen = chocolate · anifou = need · anona = give · leirih = tree · noi = here / this · ho noi = there / that (opposite + here) · faibor = spouse · miau = cat · beivu = car · none = have · litam = day · nolili = always · eofa = friend · elihei = person · noli = now · yuba = good · ti = bad · one = tam · two = tor · three = par · four = balem · five = alui · elireva = true / really · yalen = long / tall · yaltan = big · yamirli = old · yunro = smart · yasoi = fast · tohpu = sad · gerina = money · roedom = school · liyar = morning · limel = night · bevio = store · oipoh = exciting
Try combining them now. *nim i dairan e mogali* · *i dami a yuba mo* · *a bo a yamirli* · *hay i anvu, mai nim i doum*
Many people ask the question: how is my language different from other artificial auxiliary languages? Well, there is something to say.First, I avoid strong Eurocentrism. European languages are very good. Spanish is beautiful. Italian is also beautiful. French is the language of romance, but it's not only that. I have languages such as Swahili, Chinese, Hindi.And many other languages I think Japanese is one of the most beautiful languages so mine is different in some way I'm trying to bring it out into the world, not only to the public arena, it's very difficult, it will take me a lot of time, but I still have my whole life ahead of me, and 3,500 words will be used in my book.Yes, I'm writing my own textbook, I'll tell you more, paper and electronic. I plan to make both a paper and electronic version so that people can look at different versions.As Zamenhof bequeathed, the international language does not belong to any one person; he was only the initiator; I also have too. Don't forget that Esperanto was only one person at the beginning And is 2 million a lot now? Yes, of course.Plus my language may not be unique, but I try to make it my language has many languages: Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Spanish, Slavic.I plan to gather 10 or 100 or even five carriers to start with. Together we can do it.And a couple more additional facts about the letter β reads as w .And that's my flag
This essay lists the a posteriori elements of Sona borrowed from Chinese and Japanese and why such elements were borrowed.
Hello everyone, I am the creator of the language βeltohanaśa.So what I would like to say is I have my own active Instagram account, I have 3,500 words, suffix, suffix, prefixes.I'm also writing a textbook. Tell me where else besides Reddit I can spread the language. Also, to avoid getting bad karma, please let me know where I've written something incorrectly.And who wants to learn my language, write to me, it doesn't matter, Instagram channel (andrey pro βeltohanaśa) Or it’s not necessary here, although I wouldn’t refuse to learn my language, just tell me how to popularize it
Dilfura va San Lorenzo, tana rupa ke Crakeik tota :
https://online.fliphtml5.com/Kotava-piskura/525_DE_Dilfura_va_San_Lorenzo/
A literary zonal auxlang for Indians and the Indian diaspora, to engage in intellectual writing / discourse / podcasts using native vocabulary without having to deal with the extreme inflectional learning curve that applied to India’s traditional literary / technical lingua franca (Sanskrit).
Use Sanskrit vocabulary but with a regularized and simplified grammar structure based on modern day Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. In this way, we build a lingua franca that resembles modern day Sanskritized literary registers of most Indian languages while remaining neutral and easy to acquire for anyone familiar with Sanskritized vocabulary.
The Christian Lord’s Prayer as an example:
Svarga madhye asma sya pitā
Tva sya nāma sadā pavitra astu
Tva sya rājya āgamana kartu
Yathā svarga madhye tathā pṛthvī upari tva sya icchā pūrṇa bhutu
Adya asma artha dina sya bhojana dāna kartu
Yathā vayam asma sya śatru jana kṣamā karti tathā asma sya duṣṭa kārya kṣamā kartu
Vayām andhakāra madhye gamana kāraṇa na kartu, evam duṣṭa taḥ vayām rakṣā kartu
Tathāstu
IAST is used in this document. However, Navabhāṣā need not have a preferred writing script and should be written in any script that can fully represent Sanskrit phonemes, such as Devanāgarī, IAST, Tamil+Grantha. etc. Webpages and apps are encouraged to use an auto-transliteration feature such as Aksharamukha to allow users to view it in their preferred script, while printed materials should be made available in regionally legible scripts.
Spelling should be based on the Sanskrit etymology, but pronunciation need not follow Sanskrit prescription. Allowable regional pronunciation practices include omitting word-final schwa in some or all contexts or pronouncing it as a short open vowel, merging ṣ into ś, and pronouncing r̩ as ri or ru.
Modern Indian languages have converged on a surprisingly consistent word order, and we use the same.
The basic word order SOV.
More precisely including adverbs and and postpositional phrases the order is: Subject + Time + Place + Manner + Indirect Object + Direct Object + Verb
Noun phrase order is Possessive/Demonstrative + Number/Quantifier + Adjective + Noun + Plural
Genitive: sya
Dative: artha
Sociative: saha
Thematic (About/Via/Without): viṣaye / mārga / vinā
Instrumental: dvārā
Ablative (Origin vs. Comp.) taḥ / apekṣā
Temporal (Before/After) pūrva / anantara
Directional / Boundary prati / paryanta
Locative (In/On) madhye / upari
Spatial (Inside/Outside) antara / bāhya
Spatial (Above/Below) ūrdhva / tala
Spatial (Behind/Front) pṛṣṭhe / sammukhe
Spatial (Near/Far/Around) samīpa / dūra / parita
Not declined for gender
Person number: Nominal / Accusative / Stem for postposition
1st Sing: Aham / Mām / Ma
1st Plural: Vayam / Asmām / Asma
2nd Sing: Tvam / Tvām / Tva
2nd Plural: Yūyam / Yuṣmām / Yuṣma
3rd Sing: Tat / Tām / Ta
3rd Plural: Te / Tem / Te
3rd Reflexive: Sva / Svām / Sva
3rd Demonstrative: Idam / Idām / Ida
Not declined except for optional plural marker (-jana for animate, -caya for inanimate)
When borrowing verbs from Sanskrit (or from other languages like English), modern Indian languages exclusively borrow them as verbal nouns and pair them with auxiliary verbs. We universalize this practice to all verbs, except for a small set of auxiliary verbs.
Roots: Kar- (Active), As- (Static), Bhu- (Dynamic), Kāra- (Causative), Sthā- (Continuous). Suffixes: -ti (Present), -īt (Past), -iṣya
(Future), -tu (Imperative), -tva (Completive).
Correlatives and interrogatives have parallel “as” / “so” / “?” words, and inflect like the pronouns (-m added for accusative, with Katham becoming Kathām and Kim staying the same, and the rest being inflected by postpositions).
Person / entity: Ya / Tat / Ka (animate) / Kim (inanimate)
Time: Yadā / Tadā / Kadā
Place: Yatra / Tatra / Kutra
Manner: Yathā / Tathā / Katham
Quantity: Yati / Tati / Kati
If / then / yes vs. no: Yadi / Tarhi / Kim (at end of question)
Clausal links:
And: Evam
Or: Athavā
But: Kintu
Because: Kāraṇa
Therefore: Ataḥ
Also: Api (at the end of the additional clause)
I.e.: Arthāt
Otherwise: Anyathā
Finally: Antataḥ
Regularized using 1-9 numbers times the ten power. Ten power is defined using the “lakh crore” terminology rather than ancient names, to maximize recognizability and avoid ambiguity since different languages use different values for the same names.
1: Eka, 2: Dvi, 3: Tri, 4: Catur, 5: Pañca, 6: Ṣaṣ, 7: Sapta, 8: Aṣṭa, 9: Nava, 10: Daśa
100: Śata, 1000: Sahasra, 10k: Das Sahasra, 100k: Lakṣa, 1m: Das Lakṣa, 10m: Kōṭi, 100m: Das Kōṭi, 1b: Śata Kōṭi, 10b: Sahasra Kōṭi, 100b: Das Sahasra Kōṭi, 1t: Lakṣa Kōṭi, 10t: Das Lakṣa Kōṭi, 100t: Kōṭi Kōṭi
Measurement units use their international names to avoid ambiguity. The exception is units of time which use their Sanskrit names from year down to day, as well as “Vādana” for “hour”.
Let's count to thousand in my language
1unu
2 mbil
3 tri
4 sia
5 βu
6 sito
7 semeβ
8 nane
9 tiuo
10 dek
11 dek unu
27 mbil dek semeβ
40 sia dek
100 sto
138 sto tri dek nane
200 mbil sto
4000 tausunte sia
β/ß=w
Check my Instagram (andrey pro βeltohanaśa)
The real reason that Glosa failed was because they abandoned the original principles of Interglossa. The primary debate towards the end of Glosa’s original run was “how to do word formation”. For Interglossa, the very question is preposterous! We want Justice for Hogben.
There are many pan-Romance and pan-Germanic and pan-Slavic projects. How about pan-Polynesian? Such a language might be welcomed as an alternative to imperial languages (English, French) and their pidgins.